The Fugitive Blu-ray features poor video and decent audio in this enjoyable Blu-ray release
Harrison Ford is prison escapee Dr. Richard Kimble, a Chicago surgeon falsely convicted of killing his wife and determined to prove his innocence by leading his pursuers to the one-armed man who actually committed the crime. Tommy Lee Jones is Sam Gerard, an unrelenting bloodhound of a U.S. Marshal. They are hunter and hunted. And as directed by Andrew Davis (Under Siege), their nonstop chase has one exhilarating speed: all-out.
I remember first buying The Fugitive on DVD way back during the infancy of that format.
It's become a staple on home video and television, so it is no surprise that it was one of the first
Blu-ray discs released. It's also no accident that the movie is so ingrained into culture, because
this
is a darn good movie, one of the best of the 1990s, in fact, if I may be so bold. Based on the old
1960s television series starring David Janssen, this 1993 remake is a classic in its own right,
memorable for several now-iconic sequences and also for performances by two of the finer actors
of
that decade, Harrison Ford and Tommy Lee Jones (who earned himself a best supporting actor
Oscar
for his effort in this movie). Written by one of my favorite writers/directors, David Twohy
(director
of Pitch Black and The Arrival), the film garnered several other Academy Award
nominations, including best picture and best score for James Newton Howard's epic and exciting
work.
Not the best of times to be afraid of heights.
Noted vascular surgeon Dr. Richard Kimble (Harrison Ford, The Devil's Own) has been accused of a
crime
he says he didn't commit. Returning home from emergency surgery, he finds his wife Helen
(Sela
Ward, The Day After
Tomorrow) nearly dead, the victim of a brutal attack. Kimble is believed to have
murdered her as he's the sole beneficiary of her will, not to mention incriminating evidence
against
him presented at his trial. He's found guilty and sentenced to death. A spectacular accident
involving "Con Bus" and a train allows Kimble to escape during prisoner transit, and U.S. Marshall
Samuel Gerard (Tommy Lee Jones, No
Country For Old Men) leads the manhunt. Under hot pursuit from both the U.S.
Marshalls and the Chicago City police department, Kimble begins a frenetic search for the one-
armed man he knows killed his wife, the search a foray onto the streets of Chicago and into the
hospitals with which he is so familiar. It is on this quest that he attempts to unravel a mystery
that goes much deeper than the simple murder of his wife.
Will he clear his name in time, or will Gerard bring him to justice before Kimble can prove his
innocence and take the lid off of a major conspiracy?
Not only did critics lavish The Fugitive with critical praise, but audiences also found the
movie appealing, flocking to theaters and forking over nearly $184,000,000 at the box office to
see it.
The movie has also found widespread success on the home video market, as it became one of the
first DVD titles available in the fall of 1997, and is again now one of the early Blu-ray titles. There
are plenty of things to like about The Fugitive, although moviegoers who grew up on the
television series may find the proceedings here lacking in comparison to a show that spanned four
seasons and placed the fugitive in numerous locales with dozens of fine supporting actors. Still,
even with that base for comparison, I found the 1993 big-screen adaptation to be a fantastic film,
one featuring more than its fair share of memorable characters, set pieces, action sequences, and
production values. Despite its somewhat straightforward direction, this is a great film to look at,
one whose pacing is second to none. The story never dulls, the action never gets too feverish or
too slow, and the primary characters are so well drawn that following the conclusion of the film's
130 heart-pounding minutes,
we feel like we know them as well as any that take several films or more, or a television series for
that matter, to develop. Both Ford and Jones play their roles as well as can be expected, and
just about every supporting actor turns in a fine performance as well, notably from Joe Pantoliano
(Memento) and Richard Riehle (Office Space).
Warner Brothers presents The Fugitive on Blu-ray in a high-definition, MPEG-2 encoded,
1.85:1 framed transfer that's mostly abysmal. This particular transfer offers viewers a soft,
undefined image that lacks detail. Colors are muted (though likely intentionally so), poor
compression rears
its ugly head on several occasions, and the image is just bland and sometimes even painful to
look
at. It's such a shame, because the movie itself is outstanding. I can generally overlook a flawed
transfer of a good movie, letting the movie suck me into its world, forgetting all the tangible
elements that accompany a presentation, but this one had me scratching my head at times,
shocked and disappointed by the low quality of the presentation, and aghast at some scenes that
are
downright atrocious
in presentation. I haven't seen a Blu-ray transfer this bad since Young Guns. Even my non-techie
wife noticed this one was subpar. The quality definitely picks up a bit as the movie wears
on, but it's still rather dull and flat, and detail is moderate at best. There is a definite lack of
definition and attention to fine detail evident throughout. Kimble's hair, especially after the train
wreck, often looks like a glob of color rather than fine, individual strands of hair. Black levels are
moderately good at best, and dark scenes are plagued by extreme amounts of grain. Some
bad compression is present throughout, noted primarily on straight, shiny objects (especially on
chrome-colored lines on cars), looking blocky and
chunky rather than straight and natural. Granted, director Andrew Davis, director of Under Siege, has employed a similar style in
both that film and this one, a bleak, muted, and "grainy" look, a look that definitely doesn't lend
itself very well to a "pretty picture." Still, there's nothing to be excited about with this transfer.
The experience is best described as resulting in a downer, saddened that such a wonderful movie
appears as such a poor looking transfer on Blu-ray, no matter how much of it is intentional on
the part of director Andrew Davis and how much is the result of a bad disc (and I believe the
latter to be the main culprit).
The Fugitive is brought to justice on Blu-ray with a paltry, though certainly lively
and
acceptable, Dolby Digital 5.1 sound mix. While for the most part good, it left me to wonder just
how
much better a lossless option would have been (in those rare instances I wasn't crying over the
pitiful video transfer). This one is very active nonetheless, working the surrounds overtime, as
well as the subwoofer. The opening title sequence is nothing if impressive, making for a very
enjoyable opening aural experience. Bass really rocks, even if it is
a tad muffled and less defined than we're used to hearing in the top-notch lossless mixes. The
bus crash and train wreck are, as usual, fantastic demo material, or at least they were at one
point in
time. It's been far surpassed in these past years, but I remember when this scene was the hot
scene to show off at the home theater stores selling then top-of-the-line equipment. I didn't
note any problem with dialogue reproduction or levels, and I never had any issues discerning
what was happening because of muffled or muted dialogue. For a lossy mix, and one that's been
around for a long time, I was impressed. Granted, it's been several years since I screened this
film on DVD, but having seen it multiple times on both that format and on VHS, not to mention
once at the theater, I can safely say that, despite the lack of a high-definition track, this is the
best I've ever heard The Fugitive sound.
One thing Warner did right with this release was to include all the special features from the most
recent DVD special edition. Leading things off is a feature-length commentary track with director
Andrew Davis and star Tommy Lee Jones. The track kicks off with a brief discussion about the
visual style o the film, praising the look much more than I did, especially with regards to the look
of
the opening titles of the film. Andrew Davis handles the bulk of the track with Jones chiming on
every so often, and there are many long pauses and uncomfortable moments of dead air
throughout. Nevertheless, there is quite a bit of good information to be heard, such as the fact
that
the entire interrogation scene was ad libbed by Harrison Ford. Andrew Davis manages to describe
the action on-screen but doing so in a way that conveys more information than what we're privy
to
just by watching the film. This is a good listen for fans of the film.
Next is Introduction With the Film's Stars and Creators (480p, 1:50) briefly tells us that
on March 9, 2001, Andrew Davis, Tommy Lee Jones, and Harrison Ford sat down to share their
memories about The Fugitive. This is a very funny short piece, especially the interaction
between Davis and Jones, with Ford providing more standard comments separate from the other
two participants. On the Run With the Fugitive (480p, 23:04) features the cast and
crew
discussing shooting the film on-location in Chicago, the importance of casting the film properly,
and the reaction to the wonderful script and the many overhauls it went through, including
writing the final act of the film "on the fly" before reaching the final product we know and love.
This proved to be a very enjoyable feature and fans of the film will find themselves entertained
with the information it
conveys as well as its pace. Derailed: Anatomy of a Train Wreck (480p, 8:53) takes an
in-depth look at the creation of this famous scene. Finally, the film's theatrical trailer (480p,
2:00) rounds out the special features on this disc.
A movie packed with iconic scenes, excellent direction, an engrossing story, great acting, and always
watchable content, The Fugitive is one of the best movies of the 1990s. The film has
rightly earned itself as spot as a staple of home video collection and cable television screenings,
making it a mass-consumed movie, although one that is anything but typical of your everyday
movie
with widespread appeal. This is both a smart, thanking man's thriller and an enjoyable ride all at
the same time, a rare combination in Hollywood, and the mark of a great film. The Fugitive
is definitely a
movie every collector needs in their library, and it's a shame that it does not offer movie lovers a
better presentation. Featuring a subpar transfer and antiquated Dolby Digital 5.1 sound mix, the
movie is in dire need of an overhaul. The supplements are good, but nothing you haven't seen if
you have the most recent DVD release. The movie itself comes highly recommended, but I'd advise
purchasing this Blu-ray only if you don't already own a copy on another format.
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